Issues with performance—could it be related to GPU power consumption in specific games?
Issues with performance—could it be related to GPU power consumption in specific games?
It's clear something is amiss with your PC. The notion that your CPU is simply too weak isn't accurate, especially for older shooters. High CPU usage usually points to a CPU-side issue rather than just insufficient power. If this happened consistently, your performance would remain that way. I suspect something is forcing your CPU to work harder than it should, and the game isn't the problem. Have you had any virus scans recently?
The percentage scale in Task Manager changes depending on the highest speed setting, not the current state. This could mean the CPU is using 97% because it's operating at half its speed, which might be worth checking.
It's a common issue with both CPUs and GPUs, usually tied to BIOS or driver problems. The user might gain from updating the BIOS. If that doesn't work, they could consider reinstalling Windows.
His afterburner display clearly shows a consistent 5 GHz throughout.
A BIOS update appears to resolve the issues in games previously affected. I'll confirm it in October after BF6 releases. I'm running a gigabyte MMO with BIOS F20, upgraded to F21g—about a year apart. CPU usage is now around 50%, GPU at 96% and 127w. Thanks for guiding me away from chasing GPU problems toward CPU and software concerns. EDIT: Shortly after began seeing very low 1% framerates (random), but average FPS stayed normal. I tried a Windows reset now. Edit 2: Ouch, spoke too soon. Framerate is choppy and changing settings doesn’t change average FPS. Since my CPU is an APU (5700g), I considered using it as a display output to see if the problem continues, but I’m getting a black screen. Updating or reinstalling APU drivers didn’t help. I’ll probably re-seat all components (RAM, CPU, GPU, power, etc.). Edited August 21, 2025 by CluelessWanderer issue still exists, spoke too soon.